During childbirth, both the strength and frequency of the mother's labor contractions are monitored. To monitor labor contractions, medical personnel typically utilize force-type strain gauges held against the mother's abdomen by an elastic belt placed around the mother's waist. In use, such monitors are, however, bulky and extremely uncomfortable. Further, conventional monitors are generally highly cumbersome and fail to provide the mother with mobility outside the bed during the birthing process. More specifically, a mother is normally restricted to the bed during childbirth and if the mother needs to exit the bed and move about, she must first remove the attached monitor. Another limitation of presently employed monitoring devices is the limited range of mobility afforded the mother due to the signal cables connecting the monitoring device to a contraction recording system.
The problems described above are not intended to be exhaustive but are merely a few of those tending to reduce the effectiveness of the monitors presently used to detect labor contractions. These problems demonstrate that presently used monitors are not satisfactory and illustrate further the need for an improved device for detecting labor contractions.